South Africa: Health Department Calls for Vigilance As Mpox Outbreak Cases Rise to 24, Death Toll At Three

WHO
Since early May 2022, cases of mpox have been reported from countries where the disease is not endemic, and continue to be reported in several endemic countries.
4 August 2024
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Victoria O'regan

The Department of Health has appealed for 'ongoing public vigilance', as the number of laboratory-confirmed mpox cases in South Africa climbs to 24. This article is free to read.Sign up for free or sign in to continue reading.Unlike our competitors, we don't force you to pay to read the news but we do need your email address to make your experience better.Create your free account or sign in FAQ | Contact Us Nearly there! Create a password to finish signing up with us: You want to receive First Thing, our flagship daily newsletter. Opt out at any time. Please enter your password or get a sign in link if you've forgotten A code has been sent to .... Please check your email and enter your one-time pin below: Didn't get the code? Resend email Use your password instead? Enter password Open in Gmail Open Sesame! Thanks for signing up.

Listen to this article 4 min Listen to this article 4 min The Department of Health confirmed on Sunday that mpox cases in South Africa had increased from 22 to 24, with two more laboratory-confirmed cases having been detected in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

The recent cases come 26 days after the last cases of mpox were confirmed in the country, according to the department.

In total, 12 cases have been recorded in Gauteng, 11 in KwaZulu-Natal and one in the Western Cape.

The Health Department said the number of deaths linked to the disease remained at three.

The latest patient is a 20-year-old male from Gauteng who was seen at a private healthcare facility in Johannesburg on Friday, 2 August.

"The case presented with typical mpox lesions. He confirmed that he has international travel history to Peru in South America. It is uncertain if exposure occurred in Peru or South Africa," said the department.

The other patient was a 36-year-old male from KwaZulu-Natal who was admitted at a local public healthcare facility in Durban in late July, after he experienced an mpox-like rash, along with fatigue, muscle pain and rigor.

"The patient has no international travel history," the department...

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